Wheelie's Lesson: Learn, Think, Act!

2. Wheelie’s Lesson learn and think • Wheelie Big Actions research and act • Wheelie Big Competition report, display and win!

3. What is Waste? • Waste is rubbish that goes to landfill (the dump)

4. People in Antrim and Newtownabbey send 30,000 tonnes to landfill each year. That’s the same weight as a cruise ship! The council area recycles and composts about 55% of its waste but it could be as high as 70%! So we can do much better!!

5. That’s a lot of waste!! Why should we care? Because it costs money and it’s bad for the environment.

6. Black bin landfill waste costs nearly 10 times more than recycling. • Black Bin Waste > Landfill costs £1000 / lorry to dispose of. • Recycling Box/Bin > Recycling costs £100 / lorry to recycle.

7. What is paper made from? TREES

8. Cutting down trees causes deforestation. Deforestation has various adverse affects on the environment such as…

9. Habitat loss - Some animals around the world are becoming endangered due to their natural environment being destroyed. Soil erosion – Causes floods and landslides, endangering human and animal life.

10. Trees take carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into oxygen. Trees mean we all can breathe!!

11. Trees turn our carbon dioxide waste into oxygen so we can breathe. • Carbon dioxide gas affects climate change. It is produced by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and petrol. • We produce dramatically more CO2 now that we live in an increasingly industrialized society.

12. Where does plastic come from? • Plastic is made from oil • Oil is a non-renewable fossil fuel • Plastic production uses 8% of the world’s oil

13. Plastic is a tough, flexible material that does not react with other chemicals. It has revolutionised our world. • Look around the classroom what can you see that is made with plastic? • Our plastic consumption has increased x 20% since the 1950s to around 100 million tonnes of plastic each year world-wide.

14. How long does it take plastic to break down? • Sunlight UV rays break down plastic the fastest. • Plastic exposed to the sun may take 10-20 years to breakdown. • Plastic in landfill sites with no light will take thousands of years to break down. • Plastic does not biodegrade it just breaks down into smaller and smaller parts.

15. 10 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean every year. • 90% of floating rubbish in the ocean is plastic. • Every square mile of the ocean contains 46,000 pieces of plastic. • More than a million birds and marine animals die each year from being caught in or eating plastic. • Plastic is entering our own food system with unknown effects to our health.

16. A survey of dead fulmars on the north coast of Ireland found them to have an average of 40 pieces of plastic in their digestive system

17. Over 250 million plastic bottles are thrown out each year in Northern Ireland. When squashed still enough to fill 200 Ulster buses. 200 Every person uses on average 95 plastic bottles each year.

18. What can we do? Which is best?

19. is the best option • Use less paper • write/print on both sides • Use less plastic • less packaging • reuse bottles • Save the environment • Save money

20. Put scrap paper trays in classrooms Simply refilling a drinks bottle more than once will help the environment!

21. Lots of schools are making their own greenhouses from plastic bottles. This one is at Limavady Primary School. Plastic bottle greenhouses are a great idea. You would need around 200 x 2 litre drinks bottles and a wooden frame to attach them to. www.ecofriendlykids.co.uk/build-greenhouse-plastic-bottles

22. Use a reusable shopping bag Remember to use your bag!!

23. New products can be made from recycled paper and plastic

24. Did you know? 25 recycled plastic bottles can make one fleece jacket.

25. Recycling paper rather than using fresh wood pulp- • Uses 70% less energy • Causes 74% less air pollution • 35% less water pollution • Saves 7000 gallons of water (per tonne) • Saves enough energy to heat the average house for 6 months (per tonne)

26. Do you know where your recycling bin is at school? What colour is your recycling bin at home? http://www.antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk/Residents/Waste-Recycling/Blue-Bins

27. Each school is a bit different with what they can recycle but in general the following items can be recycled: (including at home!)

28. 3 Trees Activity • Every family uses around 3 trees worth of paper each year. • Cut 3 tree shapes out of scrap paper. • Stick them all on the board or wall. • How many trees will your families in this class use this year? • Why is this bad? • What can we do to help?

29. Home Actions 1. Have a sneak peek into the waste bin at home. Is there stuff in there that could be recycled? 2. Visit the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council website http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/bins-recycling/bins-recycling.aspx and check what goes in your bins.

30. School Actions • Help your Eco-Committee research waste at school. • How many recycling bins does the school have? • Are they being used in the best way? • Are items in your waste bin that should be in the recycling bin? • What could you do to improve things? • Keep a record of your actions – have they worked?

31. Submit your findings, actions and results on waste to Eco-Schools by Thurs 16th May to be entered into the Wheelie Big Competition. • Shortlisted schools will be invited to present their waste projects in an interesting display at Mossley Mill on 30th May for final judging. • Win your school a great prize, up to £500, and help work towards your next Eco-School award.

32. Useful Contact Information:Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, Waste Education and Awareness Officer: 028 9034 0254 Joanne.Templeton@antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk for visits and composting advice. Eco-Schools :028 9073 6920 eco-schools@keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org